Studies Show Curves Workout Can Burn More Than 500 Calories in 30 Minutes

Dec. 8, 2010 - PRLog -- A team of researchers from the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Lab (ESNL) at Baylor University, led by Richard Kreider, PhD, FACSM, FISSN,  released a new study showing that the Curves workout allows even the fittest athletes to burn maximum calories - more than 500 - in just 30 minutes.

Initial studies confirmed that the Curves program is effective at helping women lose weight, gain muscle strength and aerobic capacity and raise metabolism. This latest study focused on the intensity of the workout and the number of calories burned by study participants. Results correlated directly to the fitness level of the participants and the intensity at which they exercised. All participants were tested to accurately assess their fitness levels before beginning the study.

Fitness level is crucial data that correlates directly to the maximum number of calories a person is capable of burning in a given period of time. The least fit women in the Baylor study burned between 164 and 238 calories in 30 minutes. “The important thing to note here,” said Kreider, “is that these women were working at 80 percent of their maximal heart rate and 64 percent of their maximal oxygen uptake— which was slightly below their anaerobic threshold—so they simply could not have burned any more calories in 30 minutes with this or any other workout.”

And the fittest test subjects? “They burned as many as 522 calories in 30 minutes,” said Kreider. “As you progress and become more fit, your capacity for burning calories increases.” (Estimated based on exercising at 64 percent of maximal oxygen uptake in women with higher VO2 maximums; in other words, trained women.)

Exercise intensity was measured by heart rate, oxygen uptake, strength demands, and calories burned. “All of these measurements were within the appropriate ranges for the women we tested, based on their maximal exercise capacity and fitness levels,” said Kreider. “The Curves program elicits a mean exercise intensity that meets the recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association for improving aerobic fitness, as well as eliciting the appropriate workload resistance as recommended by the ACSM and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) for these women.”

So what’s the bottom line? “The Curves workout is unique in that the intensity can adjust automatically to the fitness level of the person doing it,” said Kreider. “Not only does this help women stick with the program, but it helps them avoid injury while still permitting them to make substantial gains in weight control, fitness, and overall health.”

For more information about the studies and abstracts, click here: http://curves.tamu.edu/.


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Curves, the world's largest fitness franchise and the global leader in women's fitness, is the brand recognized and trusted by millions of women worldwide.